Ingway
Ingway '(''Japanese イングヴェイ, Inguwei) also known as '''Yngwie '''in Japanese, is Velvet's older twin brother and the prince of the destroyed kingdom of Valentine. He is the first born child of Odin and the late princess Ariel as well as the older half-brother of Griselda and Gwendolyn. Story History Ingway is the illegitimate son of Demon Lord Odin and Princess Ariel. Before being strangled to death by her father, King Valentine, Princess Ariel left a scroll of prophecy stating that Velvet's destiny is to be cursed, and Ingway's destiny is death. King Valentine showed little care for Ingway or Velvet claiming that they were the embodiment of Ariel's betrayal, and he would even torture the children as he saw fit. During this time, Valentine continued its war with Ragnanival, and Valentine's victory seemed likely due to their weapons forged in the Crystallization Cauldron. In an effort to save his father's life, Ingway sabotaged the Crystallization Cauldron. He intended to simply make it self-destruct, but it went out of control, causing the destruction of the entire kingdom and turning its people into Pookas. Velvet and Ingway were spared from the event since Velvet was outside the country and Ingway found protection behind the cauldron. Odin soon found the children but, fearing the consequences if it ever became public that Odin had illegitimate children with the enemy, he instead kept them in secret and gave them the abandoned castle in Elrit Forest for them to use as they wish. Ingway still desired to make his father suffer for abandoning his family and for his cold reaction after Valentine's destruction. Ingway developed a very pessimistic personality, most likely as a result of his harsh childhood, and spent a great deal of his time planning his revenge against his father. To this end, he attempted to use the Three Wise Men so he could obtain the cursed power of the Darkova. In a plan to obtain the Darkova, Ingway deceived Cornelius and cursed him into the form of a Pooka in order to prevent his romance with Velvet, and to take his place and learn of the secrets of Darkova from King Edmund. His plan failed, however, and he eventually turned against the Wise Men. Urzur attempted to kill Ingway for interfering with their plans. While Ingway didn't die, he was cursed into the form of a frog. Cursed The cursed Ingway encountered Mercedes in the Forest Of Elrit and caused her to lose her Tasla into the swamp. He agreed to find it for her provided she break the curse on him by kissing him. Not liking frogs herself, Mercedes was unwilling to keep her end of the deal for some time, forcing Ingway to tag along with her for a majority of her story. During this time he did assist her in her retaking of Ringford from Melvin and followed her up Horn Mountain when she went to speak with Wagner. Shortly after this, he revealed vital information about Beldor, as she needed the help of someone who could visit the Netherworld in order to Rescue Brom, the dwarven blacksmith. He accompanied her to Titania to retrieve the wizard and ultimately saved her by casting the Pooka Curse on Beldor just as the sorcerer was preparing to attack Mercedes. Casting the spell wore Ingway out however, and Mercedes decided to finally make good on her end of the deal and kissed Ingway, causing him to return to his human form. The two then developed a possible love interest towards each other although Ingway insisted that he must leave her due to duties he had to attend to but promised they would meet again. The Darkova After assisting Cornelius in overthrowing Urzur, Ingway returned his attention to obtaining revenge on Odin. To this end, he struck a deal with Queen Odette, borrowing her army so he could attack Odin. Velvet attempted to stop him however, and Ingway unleashed the power of Darkova on her. She subdues him before the spell is complete and he reverts to his normal form, but unfortunately the spell has taken hold of him and he soon finds that he will never be free of it until he dies. Armageddon The start of Armageddon finds Ingway changed, wanting to do some good but aware that the spell of Darkova is filling him with a hunger for human flesh. When he sees his grandfather at the cauldron starting to bring about the end of the world Ingway transforms back into Darkova in order to stop him and destroy the cauldron once and for all. Unfortunately, he didn't see the wise man Beldor lurking about after returning from the Netherworld when the gateways were opened. Beldor promptly casts a spell to control Darkova and Ingway is made a prisoner in his own immense, beastly body. Depending on which character is chosen to fight him, the general events change slightly, but ultimately he always dies. '''True End Path - Family Sword (Cornelius v. the Darkova) If Cornelius is chosen to fight the Darkova, Cornelius encounters Ingway in the ruins of Ringford. After a short talk with Beldor, Cornelius vows that he won't allow Ingway to suffer in his beastly form any longer. After the fight, Velvet comes across an injured Cornelius and Ingway. Ingway reveals to Velvet that, within their mother's note, he found a hint to the world's salvation that involves reversing the Cauldron's core to release the Phozons stored within. His last request to her is that she complete her duty. After she leaves, Ingway remarks that, even then, he still thinks of Mercedes. Before passing on, he expresses the wish to see her one last time. Later, shortly before her battle with Onyx, Mercedes comes across Ingway's corpse and cries, as he promised her that they would see each other again. In Leifthrasir, Ingway is last seen at the end of the game's credits, where his spirit is reclining next to one of the new world tree's roots, looking at a blossom similar to those Mercedes wore in her hair. False End -''' '''Gemini (Velvet v. the Darkova) If Velvet is chosen to fight the Darkova, Ingway will beg Velvet to kill him before the fight begins. After the battle, Ingway awakens and briefly mistakes Velvet for their mother. Delirious, he asks her what happened to the Cauldron before requesting that she let him rest, dying moments later. After remarking that they'll be together with their mother like in the past, Velvet dies atop his corpse. Beldor appears and laughs over their deaths, but his mirth quickly turns to rage, as he is unable to find the Spell of Darkova on Ingway's corpse. False End -''' '''Reunion (Mercedes v. the Darkova) If Mercedes is chosen to fight the Darkova, Ingway will kill a slew of her fairy soldiers before Beldor appears. Mercedes prepares to fight against the Darkova using her Riblam, but Beldor reveals the true identity of the Darkova, causing her to hesitate. After the fight, Ingway reverts back to his human form. Upon seeing Beldor strangling Mercedes, he kills him by stabbing his dagger in his backside before dragging himself over to Mercedes. Although he says that he'll go find the fairies to assist them, Mercedes makes him stay and tells him about her victory over the Aesir, causing him to remark that she did well. She then confesses her love for him before dying in his arms. Ingway breaks down in tears and screams for the heavens to kill him, only realizing then what his heart had been telling him. It is uncertain what happened to him afterwards, although it can be assumed that he died alongside everyone else in Erion. False End - Beast (Gwendolyn or Oswald v. the Darkova) If Gwendolyn or Oswald are chosen to fight the Darkova, Ingway's mind stirs within his body and he sees Beldor, mistaking him for his grandfather. Beldor goes on to explain the deception the Wise Men implemented on him before making him attack Ringford. After the fight, Gwendolyn or Oswald is revealed to have successfully defeated the Darkova, but succumbed to injuries sustained during the battle while Ingway reverted to his human form. Beldor takes the Spell of Darkova lying near Ingway, but Ingway comes to and kills him with his dagger. Ingway then attempts to reach the Cauldron in order to stop it. His fate is left ambiguous, but it is assumed that he died from his injuries. Relationships Velvet Ingway's relationship with Velvet is an incredibly rocky one. After the death of their mother, King Valentine essentially enslaved his grandchildren. Ingway, however, often escaped punishment by making Velvet his scapegoat and hid when she was whipped. He also betrayed her trust by turning her lover Cornelius into a Pooka and attacked her when he first transformed into the Darkova (though as a Darkova he was likely not in control of his actions). He is also somewhat possessive and over-protective of Velvet. The reason that he cursed Cornelius likely being that he did not think the Prince was worthy of Velvet, or believed that he would hurt her (they have been betrayed by the people they loved before), or perhaps being jealous and wanting his sister to himself. It could be all three of these reasons. Ingway, however, does genuinely care for Velvet. He feels a great deal of guilt for having allowed Velvet to suffer at the hands of their grandfather and expressed willingness to be the only one to suffer their mother's curse. Velvet's feelings seem to be mutual as well, as she often worries about him when she sees him hurt and was hesitant to leave him to die during the true events of the Armageddon. Cornelius At the beginning of his story, Ingway utterly despised Cornelius for his relationship with his twin sister, resulting in him turning him into a Pooka in order to prevent the two from being together. He does seem to warm up somewhat to him as the story progresses, healing him so that he would be able to save Velvet from Belial and even stating that he almost regretted deceiving and cursing him. The Three Wise Men Ingway appears to have the known the Wise Men for some time before the story's beginning, chronologically first appearing with Skuldi at his side. After the plan to retrieve the Spell of Darkova from King Edmund failed, however, Ingway realized their true intentions and betrayed them. Urzur was able to curse him into the form of a frog and took from him a fabrication of the Ring of Titrel. He later fought against Urzur after regaining his human form and was able to chase him off into Belial's maw. Unfortunately, even after Urzur, Skuldi, and Beldor's deaths, he did not see the last of them, as earlier in the story, he cursed Beldor into the form of a Pooka to save Mercedes. This allowed Beldor to remain in an undead form and was ultimately the cause of him becoming the Beast of Armageddon when he tried to destroy the Cauldron. In some alternate endings to the Darkova fight, he is able to get up and stab Beldor in revenge for using him. Demon Lord Odin Ingway holds utter resentment towards his father. When Valentine was destroyed, the Aesir were the first to arrive on the scene. When Odin and Ingway encountered each other, Odin did not express any regret for what happened and essentially abandoned Velvet and Ingway to live in the forest on their own. This caused Ingway to spend years formulating a plan of revenge, going so far as to plot with the Wise Men and obtain the spell of Darkova in order to do so. He would have succeeded in killing Odin, as well, had Velvet not intervened. Princess Ariel For a very long time, Ingway believed that his mother had died hating both him and Velvet, as she had left behind a note stating that their destiny was to suffer a curse. His feelings towards her changed when Velvet revealed the truth through the second half of her memo, learning that she had, in fact, forgiven him for his hatred of her. When he's speaking to Velvet shortly before his death during the true Armageddon events, he jokingly states that she is waiting for him on the other side and that "She is sure to punish her bad son." Mercedes Ingway first met Mercedes after he was cursed into the form of a frog by Urzur in the Forest Lagoon of Elrit Forest. He surprised her, causing her to drop the Tasla into the swamp and offered to get it for her in exchange for a favor. It wasn't until after Mercedes regained control of Ringford that she learned what this favor was; a kiss in order to break his curse, which disgusted her and caused her to stall it for as much as possible. Mercedes is arguably the one person that Ingway never showed any amount of animosity to, although the two did bicker from time to time. He was the one to push her in the direction of leading her remaining forces against Melvin's rebellion and even assisted her by turning his soldiers into frogs. He followed her up Horn Mountain, nearly freezing to death in the process, and accompanied her to Titania, both due to worry for her safety. He also nearly sacrificed himself to save her from Beldor by casting the Pooka's curse on him, an act which severely weakened him. Mercedes finally kept good on her promise and kissed him, transforming him back into a human. Romantic feelings began to blossom between them, but Ingway ultimately left Mercedes, promising that they would meet again. This promise was, unfortunately, never to be kept. In the true events of Armageddon, Ingway dies before he and Mercedes can meet again, although he expresses the wish to be able to see her one last time. If the player pits Mercedes against the Darkova in the False Ending, the two are able to meet again. Mercedes is able to confess her feelings of love for him before dying and fading away into phozons, prompting Ingway to break down in tears, as he only then realized that he truly loved her. Ingway and Mercedes account for one of the three main couples in the game, the other two being Gwendolyn and Oswald as well as Velvet and Cornelius. Trivia *The Japanese romanization of Ingway's name, Yngwie, is a form of the Swedish name Yngve. Yngve is a modern form of the Old Norse Yngvi, believed to be an older name for the Norse god Freyr. Other forms of Yngvi include Inguin (Old High German), Ingwine (Old English), and Ingwaz (Proto-Germanic) **As Freyr was a member of the Vanir tribe of gods in Norse Mythology, this can be seen as to reflect his relationship with Mercedes, as he assists her in retaking Ringford during Melvin's rebellion and provides advice and assistance to her. Additionally, Freyr is among the gods fated to die during the events of Ragnarök at hands of the jötunn Surtr, thus foreshadowing Ingway's ultimately tragic fate. *With the exception of Velvet, who willingly sacrificed her human form for the sake of saving the world, Ingway is responsible for the cursing of all the Pooka characters presented in Odin Sphere. **The Valentinians were transformed into Pooka during the disaster that destroyed the kingdom, of which Ingway was the cause of. **Ingway personally cursed Cornelius so that he couldn't be with Velvet and so that he could learn the secrets of Darkova from Cornelius's father, King Edmund. **Ingway cursed Beldor in order to save Mercedes's life. *Although generally considered to be one of the two Anti-Hero protagonists (the other being Oswald), Ingway's actions throughout his storyline more reflect those of an Anti-Villain, or a character who achieves evil ends through actions considered good. This can be seen in that his primary goal is get revenge on his father Odin; however, during the events of Mercedes's book, he is remarkably kinder and a lot more helpful compared to his appearances in Cornelius and Velvet's books, where his actions range from callous to outright villainous. Category:Royalty Category:Characters Category:Bosses